Wasilla hoops mentor selected to coach in McDonald's All-American Game

WASILLA — Jeannie Hebert-Truax has long been known as one of Alaska’s best basketball coaches ever. Now, the longtime Wasilla High school girls’ basketball mentor and the winningest girls’ prep hoops coach in state history, is receiving national recognition.

Hebert-Truax has been named a head coach for the 2018 McDonald’s All-American games.

“It’s very exciting. Pretty awesome,” Hebert-Truax said Tuesday evening.

The rosters and coaching staffs were officially released Tuesday, but Hebert-Truax said she’s known for a few weeks. A McDonald’s All-American representative contacted her during the holiday beak and told her she was a nominee.

“I was a little bit stunned,” Hebert-Truax said. “It’s pretty exciting knowing I’ll coach 12 of some of the best players in the nation.”

Hebert-Truax also has the opportunity to bring two of her assistants, Karissa Rollman and Stacia Rustad, to the event, slated for March 28 in Atlanta, Georgia.

“To be able to work with them, share the experience with them is going to be quite fun,” Hebert-Truax said.

Rollman has shared the sideline with Hebert-Truax for 15 years, and has been part of Wasilla’s six state titles. Rustad has been a part of Wasilla’s consecutive state championships in 2016 and 2017.

Hebert-Truax said she is looking forward to being able to not only represent her community and school alongside Rollman and Rustad, but also the state of Alaska.

“I think it’s cool too we were all born and raised in Alaska. We graduated from Alaska (high) schools,” Hebert-Truax said.

Hebert-Truax is one of a pair of Alaskans to be named head coach of an All-American team this year. Dimond head coach Brad Lauwers, who led Dimond High School to a 4A boys’ state title last year, was named one of the head coaches in the boys’ All-Star game. Krehg Perez, the first-year head coach of the Houston High boys’ team, will also make the trip to Georgia as part of Lauwers’ staff. Perez is a former longtime assistant of Lauwers.

Hebert-Truax will lead the West Team in the girls’ all-star game, scheduled for March 28 at 1 p.m. AST. Team West includes Barbers Hill High School (Texas) senior Charli Collier, a University of Texas commit and the No. 2 ranked senior in the nation, according to ESPN. Players on Team West have committed to Division I programs Connecticut, Baylor, Notre Dame, Arizona, Tennessee, California, Texas and Georgia Tech.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking, but super exciting at the same time,” Hebert-Truax said. “Just to be in that environment, the talent in the room, I don’t think I’ll ever get that experience again.”

Hebert-Truax, in her 23rd season at the helm of Wasilla girls’ basketball, is the only girls’ basketball head coach in Alaska his with more than 400 wins. She passed that milestone in 2015.

Hebert-Truax also stands as one of the most recognized athletes in Alaska history. She played in four state title games in high school, two with North Pole and two with Monroe, and won state titles as a junior and senior. She also earned a state title in volleyball. She went on to play Division I women’s basketball at Miami (Florida), and finished her career ranked second in program history with 694 assists, third with 1,766 points and fourth with 237 steals. She led the Hurricanes to their first NCAA tournament berth in 1989.

Hebert-Truax is a member of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, the ASAA Hall of Fame, the University of Miami Hall of fame, and was named an all-time Legend by the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Hebert-Truax said they will leave for Atlanta the day after the 2018 ASAA 4A state tournament. The girls’ game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

The McDonald’s All-American Games is widely known as the nation’s most prestigious high school basketball event. The boys’ game is in its 41st season. This year will mark the 17th-annual girls’ game.

Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are among the top players in basketball history who have hit the court for the boys’ games. Past players in the girls’ game include Candace Parker, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.